Students’ perceptions of interprofessional education in geriatrics: A qualitative analysis

Abstract

Interprofessional education (IPE) is critical for ensuring that students are prepared to collaborate with team members across disciplines once they enter clinical practice; particularly, in the complex care of the geriatric population. This qualitative study explored the experiences of interdisciplinary students in a clinical based IPE experience at a senior housing residence. Reflective journals were examined from students (n = 23) in nursing, social work, pharmacy, and medicine participating in an IPE program. Four core themes emerged in the analysis: exposure to geriatrics, IPE advantages for students, IPE advantages for older adults, and IPE challenges. Findings from this study confirmed advantages of IPE in a real-world clinical setting in terms of students learning the value and scope of practice of interdisciplinary team members. The exposure to geriatrics helped students to gain an in-depth understanding of issues affecting older adults in the community and increase professional confidence in their future clinical practice.

A scoping review of the changing landscape of geriatric medicine in undergraduate medical education: curricula, topics and teaching methods

“…Interprofessional education is a collaborative educational approach whereby students of two or more health or social care professions learn interactively together with the aim of providing high-quality, patient-centred care [ 32 ]. Advantages of interprofessional education for students are: understanding role delineation; expanding knowledge; learning group dynamics; feeling supported by the team; enhancing group learning; understanding other disciplines; communicating as a team [ 32 ]. Interprofessional education can take place in various settings, including residential homes, nursing homes and senior housing residences [ 32 , 33 ].…”

“…Advantages of interprofessional education for students are: understanding role delineation; expanding knowledge; learning group dynamics; feeling supported by the team; enhancing group learning; understanding other disciplines; communicating as a team [ 32 ]. Interprofessional education can take place in various settings, including residential homes, nursing homes and senior housing residences [ 32 , 33 ]. For example, the Interprofessional Geriatrics Curriculum was designed to train medical students and other healthcare students to work as a team in the care of older adults in a community-based senior housing unit [ 33 ].…”

Knowledge and Attitude of Pharmacy Students Regarding Geriatric Care: Questionnaire-Based Analysis in Malaysia

“…This is consistent with the findings of Holmes et al, which demonstrated that most students expressed the need to be trained more in geriatric care despite their current limited knowledge. 25 The growing number of patients in older age with complex chronic illnesses requires equally knowledgeable personnel to tend to them. It is found that education in geriatric care is prioritised in postgraduate educations, such as master's and doctorate programmes, rather than undergraduate ones.…”

Promoting Older Adult Health with Interprofessional Education through Community Based Health Screening

“…We are using the definition of IPE from the World Health Organization (WHO) as an experience that “occurs when students from two or more professions learn about, from, and with each other” [ 11 ]. The literature supports that interprofessional education (IPE) and learning activities for health care students in a more clinically applicable setting may be more advantageous than provision through didactic or more academic settings by providing a realistic environment for enhancing clinical skills and knowledge, as well as providing an opportunity for reflection and observation [ 3 ]. In addition, working directly with older adults as part of an interprofessional student team results in promoting a greater understanding of the roles and responsibilities of other health care professions, enhancing teamwork skills and communication, and promoting a more favorable perception of what working with older adults is like [ 12 ].…”

“…Health care screenings for older adults, conducted in the community by health professions students and faculty, help prepare the future workforce for collaborative and effective health care delivery [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]. Several models of this type of work have been reported in the literature, such as providing geriatric screening in an assisted living center [ 6 ], developing senior wellness fairs to promote delivery of health care education and screenings while training interprofessional health care students [ 4 ], and providing services for low income older or disabled adults in housing units through a wellness initiative [ 7 ].…”